Experimenting with light!

                                                                   

• I think the frontal lighting is more dramatic than the ceiling or wall-bounced lighting because it creates a harder look. I think bouncing the light from the flash creates a much more flattering photograph. I prefer the wall-bounced lighting as it makes the photo a lot softer and warmer.
• I think using window light creates a much more natural photo but can cause shadows on the side of the subject which isn't exposed to the light - however using a reflector on that side can fill in the shadows and make it a lot brighter. I personally preferred  using  the reflector as I think it creates an overall better photograph.

Photographing people - the documentary approach!

For this task I was asked to photograph people using different approaches. These were: non-confrontational, confrontational, un-obtrusive and obtrusive.

This approach was non-confrontational because the man is not looking at or reacting to the camera and un-obtrusive because I did not direct the subject in any way.

This approach was obtrusive because I  told the man where to look and because of this I think it is also confrontational because he is posing for the camera.

I think this approach was very confrontational because he is pointing and looking at the camera and obtrusive because I asked him if I could take his photo.










I think a non-confrontational reaction is better because you get a more natural expression.

I prefer an un-obtrusive shot because if you tell the subject to do something they are waiting for you to take the photo and therefore it can look a bit forced.

At first I felt shy of asking people if i could take their picture, thinking they may not like it but I found out they didn't really mind.

Observation exercise

For this exercise I decided to take some pictures of my rabbits Snoopy and Rambo. In all of these photos I used the rule of thirds as a compositional  technique and made sure I filled the frame with my subject.
In Photoshop I used levels to brighten the images and increase the contrast, I sharpened these images, and resized them for use on the web.

Researching Composition!

I have chosen this particular picture as an example of the rule of thirds as the face of this model seems to sit on the horizontal intersection and therefore I think this creates more tension and interest into the picture!

I have again chosen this picture as an example of the rule of thirds because this puppy is placed on the vertical line at both intersections and I think doing this adds more energy to the compositional elements.

I think this is a good example of a visual lead in because the girls hand and arm is reaching out towards us and is making our eye line automatically lead in and focus on her.

Another great example of a visual lead in. I chose this photo because I thought this lit up bridge was a great lead-in towards the city.

I have chosen this picture as an example of a frame within a frame because I think it's interesting how the photo has been taken of the stain glass window with the rays of sunshine shining through but still with the shapes of the window incorporated within it. I think this adds impact and interest to the main subject.

I thought this was another good example of a frame within a frame because it has been taken inside a building and you can see that it has, but it also seems quite obvious that the main subject was of the famous zen garden!

I chose this photo as an example of short depth of field because this photo is a close up shot of a cow but shows another cow in the distance. You therefore have your main subject but you still know the surroundings of this animal.

Again, I also think this is a good example of short depth of field because you have a close up of one daisy but there are more in the distance which are slightly out of focus so we know our main subject is the close up of the daisy.

I think this shows the usage of long depth of field well because it is showing (from a distance) all of this city landscape and therefore we know that this is a picture of New York!

Another example of long depth of field. I chose this picture because it is showing the surrounding area but also a landmark to show you that this is a picture of London!

I really like this picture and I think it shows the use of the decisive moment well because the photographer has captured this at the perfect time to show the movement, which I think has a big impact!